Ron Paul: Local police not 'warriors'

Former Rep. Ron Paul on Monday called for the elimination of the Defense Department program that has transferred billions of dollars in surplus military equipment to local and state agencies.

“It should be gotten rid of,” the Texas Republican said on MSNBC of the Pentagon 1033 program, which has come under increased scrutiny because of the equipment used by St. Louis County police forces in Ferguson, Missouri.

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“Police are supposed to be local people, and they’re supposed to be peace officers,” he added. “They’re not supposed to be warriors.”

The former presidential candidate and libertarian favorite said he was “strongly opposed” to the program when it was introduced in Congress in the 1990s.

In the wake of demonstrations in Ferguson following the death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, images have poured out of the small municipality of armored vehicles, riot gear, tear gas canisters and sniper rifles all being used by the police. Police officials acknowledged that officers fired several smoke canisters and at least one tear gas canister Sunday, and many of the hundreds of officers in Ferguson on Sunday evening appeared in riot gear.

On Monday, Paul said such police militarization “encourages the police to overreact, and it’s very, very dangerous.”

He also suggested that Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s decision early Monday to deploy National Guard troops to Ferguson would likely exacerbate, not ameliorate, the problem. “The police became militarized; I can’t see how bringing soldiers in are a very good substitute for the police,” he said.

The St. Louis County Police Department has received 12 5.56 millimeter rifles, 6 .45-caliber pistols, multiple cargo trailers and utility trucks and night vision equipment from the Pentagon from 2010-2013, according to an official list from the Missouri Department of Public Safety. It also received its helicopter from the military in 2004.

The Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency Law Enforcement Support Office, which oversees the program, reports on its website that it has transferred $4.3 billion in military equipment to states and local communities, and more than $449 million in 2013 alone.

Paul is the latest political figure to speak out against the DoD program. Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia has announced his intention to introduce the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which is aimed at ending the 1033 program. Paul’s son, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, wrote an op-ed last week calling forcefully for police demilitarization, linking the problem to government intrusion.